Entre a Mi Mundo

Following initial reservations from Abraham Quintanilla, Chris Pérez joined the group in 1988, briefly left, and returned in 1991. Entre a Mi Mundo became his inaugural collaborative effort with the band.

In 1988, Chris Pérez replaced Roger Garcia as the guitarist of Selena y Los Dinos. Pérez developed an admiration for the ensemble subsequent to experiencing their album Preciosa (1988), becoming particularly enamored with A. B. Quintanilla's musical production.[1] Pérez elected to join Selena y Los Dinos, and abandoned his recently formed rock band.[2] In 1990, Pérez temporarily departed the group, leading to Joe Ortega's recruitment. However, upon his wife's insistence, Ortega relinquished his position after their marriage, resulting in Pérez's return to the ensemble in the summer of 1991.[3]

Initially, Abraham Quintanilla—the group's manager and father of A. B., drummer Suzette Quintanilla, and Selena—dismissed Pérez, perceiving him as more of a rocker and deeming him ill-suited for a Tejano band. Writing for People magazine, Betty Cortina asserted that Pérez contradicted Abraham's "clean cut good kids" image.[4] A. B. convinced Abraham that Pérez was proficient in performing Tejano music, maintaining that Pérez's rocker image was innocuous.[4] In 1989, EMI Latin hesitated to let A. B. maintain his role as the group's producer. However, given the uncertainty of the genre's future, the company acquiesced, allowing A. B. to stay on as producer but cautioning that failure would result in his replacement by a company-approved candidate.[5] After Selena's 1989 self-titled album surpassed the performance of other female Tejano artists' releases,[6][7] A. B. secured his position.[8] The group's second studio album, Ven Conmigo (1990), achieved a top-five ranking on the United States Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart. Consequently, EMI Latin, bolstered by this and other albums from Tejano artists, became the second most successful regional label in the nation.[9] The company's mission for Selena's next album was to expand the singer's popularity within the Latin music market in the US.[10]

Pérez was taken back at the group's work ethic throughout the entire production of Entre a Mi Mundo,[11] which was the inaugural album on which he collaborated with the ensemble.[12] During pre-production, keyboardist Ricky Vela would sequence the music—Pérez was taken aback by the emphasis placed on this aspect—while A. B. would collaborate with Vela to resolve any technical issues they encountered and select the compositions for Selena's recording.[11] EMI Latin hired Argentine producer Bebu Silvetti to assist A. B. during the production of Entre a Mi Mundo.[13] The group would convene at A. B.'s residence during pre-production to refine their musical elements, while Selena familiarized herself with the songs chosen by A. B. Pérez marveled at Selena's ability to learn songs autonomously. He observed this consistency during the production of Entre a Mi Mundo, where Selena would enter the studio and "add so much personality and liveliness to the song", which he believed facilitated listeners' connection to the recording.[11] Vela also praised Selena's capacity to promptly comprehend the phrasing, the significance, and the essence of what the song aimed to convey, likening it to a cinematic performance. Pérez revealed that during production, Vela would be present from the onset of each recording day until its conclusion to address any issues that emerged as he was the individual to rectify them. Vela noted that during post-production, the band would frequently desire to modify a particular verse or lyric at the last minute; Selena would then arrive, incorporating her distinct musical flair to those adjustments and elevating the piece beyond its original intent.[11]

It took a decade for A. B. Quintanilla (pictured) to write "Como la Flor", after conceptualizing the idea in 1982.

The recording of Entre a Mi Mundo transpired at the San Antonio studio owned by Tejano music producer Manny Guerra, with Brian "Red" Moore, Guerra's in-house music engineer, supervising the process as A. B. assumed the roles of producer and arranger, directing the operation.[14] The writing process commenced in early 1991.[15] During the selection of tracks, Vela presented A. B. with multiple songs he had penned, including an incomplete piece titled "Si La Quieres". Though the song consisted merely of fragments, A. B. appreciated its existing chorus. Vela drafted a verse that failed to captivate A. B., compelling him to spend hours crafting verses and melodies until the unrequited love theme for the song garnered approval. In 1982, within the band's first year as a group, A. B. noticed a family selling illuminated plastic flowers at a Sacramento concert and resolved to compose a song about a flower someday. A decade later, while showering at a Bryan, Texas hotel, a catchy melody struck him, prompting him to hastily exit the shower and collaborate with Pete Astudillo on the song. Assembling the music required 20 minutes, while Astudillo spent an additional hour penning the lyrics for "Como la Flor".[11]

Vela admitted to utilizing a thesaurus and dictionary to compete with Astudillo when composing "Yo Te Sigo Queriendo". Astudillo's collaborative efforts persisted with "¿Qué Creias?", a track conceived in the back seat of a car during a challenge from A. B. to create a song before the band's arrival in Las Vegas from their concert in California.[11] Tejano artist David Lee Garza contributed his emotive accordion style to the piece.[16] A. B. penned "La Carcacha" after he and keyboardist Joe Ojeda encountered a dilapidated vehicle at a Uvalde, Texas restaurant. When A. B. inquired about the Spanish term for a broken-down car, Ojeda supplied the word "carcacha". A. B. spent six months developing the song, inspired by an incident where, after collecting food in his newly acquired BMW, he grew irritated by a worker's incessant questions about the car and eavesdropped on a woman expressing her desire to date the car's owner. Astudillo became aware of A. B.'s concept for "La Carcacha" after a friend of Selena mocked a couple for arriving at a dance in their battered vehicle in Eagle Pass, Texas. Astudillo aspired to craft lyrics centered around a woman devoid of materialistic inclinations, whose acquaintances may deride her and engage in mockery, yet she remains unperturbed by her partner's possession of a battered car, showing that the paramount sentiment is the significance of love.[11]

The album's sole English-language track, "Missing My Baby", was composed and recorded to highlight Selena's multifaceted musical abilities and enrich the album's assortment of musical genres.[17] Selena aspired to include an English-language song on the album, believing it would persuade EMI Records of her readiness to release a crossover album.[11][18] A. B. spent a week crafting "Missing My Baby", which was recorded three weeks later in late 1991 in Sun Valley, Los Angeles. The record company sought to have R&B duo Full Force create a remixed rendition of the track. A. B. and Selena convened with the duo at Full Force's Brooklyn recording studio, whereupon the group consented to contribute backing vocals, which they recorded within two days.[11] Pérez and Selena began dating after confessing their mutual affection, despite her father's disapproval.[19] In response to her feelings for Pérez and their covert liaison, Selena created "Ámame", enlisting Astudillo's help with the lyrics.[20] Abraham described Selena's commitment to recording the song as her investing "every ounce of energy" into it.[21]

At the time of its release, Entre a Mi Mundo showcased the band's most inventive auditory landscape.[23] The group's diverse backgrounds contributed to the album's eclectic influences; Vela devised songs with intricate arrangements, Pérez infused rock and roll, Ojeda integrated "traditional street music", Astudillo introduced sophisticated lyrics and melodies with numerous chords, A. B. further refined his production skills, and Selena imbued her music with soul and adaptability.[24] The album featured a multifaceted musical style, a formula that evidently succeeded, according to Patoski.[25] According to Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle, the band demonstrated profound reverence for the various genres they modernized on the album.[26] Entre a Mi Mundo encapsulated Selena's quintessential sound, characterized by engaging tunes harmonized with her distinctive, plaintive vocals and a relaxed, danceable cumbia beat, as noted by Leila Cobo.[27] Entre a Mi Mundo is primarily a Tejano cumbia album.[28] The recording encompassed a wide range of musical influences, including power-pop, synth-driven Tejano cumbia,[29] traditional Tejano,[28] R&B, disco,[30] rock, and funk music.[16]

Selena's biographer, Joe Nick Patoski, described "La Carcacha" as an exemplary piece of contemporary music, characterized by its dynamic cumbia rhythm accentuated by call-and-response chants, exuberant shouts, whistles, and Pérez's guitar fills. The song showcases Selena's "mesmerizing snake-charmer vocals"; oscillating between exhilarating and impassioned growls, as she awaits her lover's arrival in his ramshackle vehicle. The narrative encapsulates a story of love amidst adversity, a theme with which A. B. "knew well".[14] Selena frequently recorded songs depicting experiences she had not personally encountered, as with "La Carcacha", which delves into themes of "barrio teen romance".[31] Tejano music often suffered from simplistic and generic lyrical content; however, A. B. and Astudillo overcame this stereotype by crafting songs such as "La Carcacha" that rendered vibrant depictions of life in the barrio.[32] Ramiro Burr asserted that Selena imbued her music with more emotion and soul in "La Carcacha".[29] Burr, acknowledging A. B.'s significantly enhanced songwriting, noted that the band drew inspiration from sax-cumbia singer Fito Olivares when they recorded "La Carcacha", praising the song as a "marvelous [and] "danceable cumbia" track.[29]

A. B. initially requested Pérez to perform "Las Cadenas" in a rock style but later opted for a conjunto (small band) style. Pérez was nevertheless delighted to record the song, as the conjunto nature evoked childhood nostalgia. He also believed that Selena's vocals would complement the song—a conjunto track about an exuberant protagonist regaining control of her life after feeling confined in a relationship.[11] Incorporating the squeezebox,[28] Mario Tarradell of The Dallas Morning News deemed the song well-crafted, catchy, and skillfully executed.[33]

The ranchera track "¿Qué Creias?" portrays a woman indignantly confronting her lover, reminding female listeners of the tendency for men to take them for granted. The "spirited mariachi kiss-off anthem",[14] chronicles an unrepentant woman who declines to reconcile with an unfaithful partner.[11] Patoski perceived "¿Qué Creias?" as an anomaly in Selena's cumbia repertoire, noting its characteristics of traditional mariachi and bordering on "an outright theft."[25] He further emphasized the song's demonstration of her unrestrained vocal range and forceful delivery of lyrics, reminiscent of Lucha Villa's gritty passion,[34] characterizing it as brimming with sass and fire.[16] Selena, in describing the song, avers that it embodies women on a collective scale.[35]

The lyrics in "Como la Flor" describe a woman witnessing her former lover with another and accepting the need to move forward, wishing them well and comparing her past relationship to a withered flower.[23] Selena portrays a hopeless romantic who finds solace in being able to say that she had loved, even if it meant losing the relationship. According to Erika Ramirez of Billboard, Selena's performance of "Como la Flor" and "No Me Queda Más" (1994) was so passionate and devoted that it left listeners feeling either nostalgic or transported to a fantasy world.[22] Pérez describes the lyrics as "aching",[23] while Wallace finds them plaintive, bringing even "the toughest hombres" to tears.[36] Scholar Deborah Parédez characterizes the lyrics as self-abnegating after an unsuccessful relationship, in stark contrast to the themes of typical cumbia, salsa, and dance songs in Latin music; its lyrics more closely resemble those of pop music.[37] During Selena's emotional proclamations of unrequited love, "Como la Flor" exerts a "tensive pull" on the listener.[37] Selena's "teardrop vocals" capture and convey what Roland Barthes referred to as "the grain of Selena's voice".[38]

According to Patoski, "Missing My Baby" exemplifies modern pop,[25] while J. R. Reynolds of Billboard perceives it as an enchanting ballad that blends an R&B-infused tune with Selena's distinctive pop vocal style.[39] Tim Baker of Newsweek found it to be avant-garde for its era.[40] Lyrically, "Missing My Baby" delves into a poignant exploration of longing and reminiscence. The song's narrative centers around a protagonist who mourns the absence of her lover, as she nostalgically recalls the idyllic and rapturous moments once shared between them.[11] Jerry Johnston of the Deseret News commented that Selena exhibited a "Lesley Gore baby-voice" in "Missing My Baby" and displayed remarkable vocal agility.[41] The Virginian-Pilot noted that the song's hooks evoke Diana Ross's "Missing You", a tribute to Marvin Gaye, and the Beach Boys' "Good to My Baby".[42] Tarradell suggested that "Missing My Baby" and other tracks were incorporated into Entre a Mi Mundo as a beneficial addition.[43] Guerra discerned impassioned club rhythms within the music of "Ámame".[44] In "Vuelve a Mí", characterized as a polka,[45] expresses Selena's yearning for a former lover to return. In a recitative preamble accompanied by the auditory backdrop of a thunderstorm, Selena remarks that the precipitation evokes memories of the day her lover departed, drawing a parallel between the raindrops and her own tears.[18]

Entre a Mi Mundo sold 50,000 units in pre-sale copies,[98][99] and made its debut at number nine on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Albums chart for the week ending June 13, 1992.[100] Tejano music columnist, Rene Cabrera, described the album's Billboard debut as having ascended the chart with "soaring" momentum.[101] On September 5, 1992, it peaked at number one, supplanting La Mafia's Estas Tocando Fuego.[102] Cabrera regarded the event as a remarkable accomplishment, observing that Selena unseated La Mafia, one of the preeminent Tejano groups. He remarked on the distinctiveness of Selena within the Tejano music landscape, asserting that she is the foremost female artist in the genre.[87] The album maintained the number one position for eight consecutive months,[103][104] effectively preventing international artists Vicente Fernandez, Ana Gabriel, and Bronco from claiming the chart's apex.[105] Writing for El Paso Times, Pifas Silva identified Selena as one of the genre's most commercially successful artists in the US.[98] Regarding her success on the Billboard charts and in record sales, Selena expressed her astonishment, noting that the sustained presence on the charts likely indicated a continued interest in purchasing her album.[66] Entre a Mi Mundo finished 1992 as the sixth best-selling US Regional Mexican Album.[106] On July 10, 1993, the album made its entrance at number 10 on the newly established US Billboard Top Latin Albums chart.[107] It ended 1993 as the best-selling US regional Mexican album.[108]

In a 1992 recap, Entre a Mi Mundo contributed to the surpassing sales of the genre's "classic days" of the 1970s.[109] The album became the first recording by a female Tejano singer to reach sales of 100,000,[110] 200,000 units (December 1992),[111] and 300,000 units by December 1993.[112][113] Entre a Mi Mundo outperformed any prior female Tejano singer in terms of sales.[114] and became the second all-time best-selling regional Mexican album in the US since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991.[115] Entre a Mi Mundo became the first album by a Tejano woman to outsell men in the genre.[116] Entre a Mi Mundo reached sales of 385,000 units by April 1994, and sold 200,000 units in Mexico.[117] Entre a Mi Mundo spent at number one on the Regional Mexican Albums chart for 36 consecutive weeks by May 1993, breaking the record for most weeks at number one by a female Tejano artist.[118]

On March 31, 1995, Selena was shot and killed.[119] Media attention had helped increased sales of Entre a Mi Mundo as well as her back catalogue.[115] Record stores were unable to meet demand,[28] and as a result, EMI Latin increased the production of the singer's albums at their Los Angeles, California, and Greensboro, North Carolina plants.[120] It was the fifth best-selling Latin album in southern California in the days following her death.[121] Entre a Mi Mundo and Amor Prohibido (1994), rose 1,250% in sales in the eight weeks following her murder.[122] Entre a Mi Mundo re-entered the Top Latin Albums chart, peaking at number four, all behind other Selena releases.[115] It debuted at number 179 on the Billboard 200, and peaked at number 97 on May 6, 1995.[123] In June, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA, for shipping 500,000 units in the country.[124] It ended 1995 as the seventh best-selling US Latin album, while it was the fourth best-selling US Regional Mexican album, behind other releases by Selena.[125] By 1997, Entre a Mi Mundo had sold 385,000 units in Mexico,[126] the most sold by a female Tejano artist in the country.[127] As of November 2017, Entre a Mi Mundo has been certified Diamond (Latin), denoting 600,000 album-equivalent units sold in the US.[128] As of 2018, Entre a Mi Mundo has sold a combined 1,000,000 copies in the US and Mexico.[129]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Entre a Mi Mundo, while all songs featured on the album were produced by A. B. Quintanilla unless specified.[11]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Entre a Mi Mundo.[11]

Instruments

Technical and production credits

• 1992 in Latin music
• Selena albums discography
• Latin American music in the United States
• Billboard Regional Mexican Albums Year-end Chart, 1990s
• List of number-one Billboard Regional Mexican Albums of 1992
• List of number-one Billboard Regional Mexican Albums of 1993
• Women in Latin music

• Entre a Mi Mundo at AllMusic
• Entre a Mi Mundo at Discogs (list of releases)